New Mexico state executive official elections, 2016

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New Mexico Executive Official Elections
Top Ballot
Secretary of State
Down Ballot
Public Education Commission
Public Regulation Commission

The Land of Enchantment

Three state executive offices in New Mexico were up for election in 2016:

Context of the 2016 elections

Primary elections

A primary election is an election in which voters select the candidate they believe should represent a political party in a general election. Primaries usually take place several months before a general election. New Mexico utilizes a closed primary process, in which the selection of a party's candidates in an election is limited to registered party members.[1][2][3]

New Mexico's primary elections took place on June 7, 2016.

Party control in New Mexico

Throughout the state’s history, Democrats have tended to control the state legislature, and they experienced brief periods of trifecta control as recently as 2010.[4] However, in 2015, Republicans gained control of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the first time since 1954.[5] The governorship is also held by Republican Susana Martinez; in 2016, all seats in the Democratic-majority state Senate are up for election, signaling the potential for a major partisan shift in the state.

2016 elections

Races we watched

Secretary of state

New Mexico held a special election for secretary of state on November 8, 2016, to determine who would serve the remaining two years of Dianna Duran's term. Duran's 2014 rival, Maggie Toulouse Oliver (D) defeated Nora Espinoza (R) in the general election.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • Following criminal charges, Dianna Duran (R) resigned from her position as secretary of state in October 2015.
  • Interim gubernatorial appointee Brad Winter did not run for election to the seat.
  • One Republican and one Democratic candidate declared for this race.
  • Maggie Toulouse Oliver won the general election on November 8, 2016.

    • Public Education Commission

    New Mexico held an election for public education commissioners on November 8, 2016. Districts 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10 were up for re-election in 2016. Democrats Ricardo Cabellero, incumbent Karyl Armbruster, Trish Ruiz, and Tim Crone won election in Districts 1, 4, 9, and 10 respectively. No candidates filed to run in District 8, leaving the ballot empty and the position subject to appointment by the governor.

    HIGHLIGHTS
  • No Republicans filed to run in any district; Democrats running in districts 1, 4, and 9 were all unopposed in the primary election.
  • No candidates filed to run in district 8 by the March 8 filing deadline; Denise M. Dawson (D), who filed as a write-in candidate for the Democratic primary, did not receive enough votes to qualify for the general election ballot. Under state law, Governor Susana Martinez (R) appointed the next commissioner in that district.
  • Two write-in candidates ran in District 10; Tim Crone won the district with only 86 votes.

    • Elections by office

    Secretary of state

    Public Education Commission

    Public Regulation Commission

    Voter registration

    For full information about voting in New Mexico, contact the state election agency.

    Registration

    To vote in New Mexico, you must be:[8]

    “

    ☐ A resident of New Mexico
    ☐ A citizen of the United States
    ☐ Not legally declared mentally incapacitated
    ☐ Not a convicted felon, or a felon who has completed all of the terms and conditions of sentencing
    ☐ 18 years or older at the time of the next election[9]

    		”
    —New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna J. Duran

    Online registration

    See also: Online voter registration

    New Mexico does not permit online voter registration. In 2013, New Mexico passed a law authorizing a system by which voters may update existing voter registration records electronically. As of January 2015, the system had not yet been implemented.[10]


    Past elections

    2015

    There were no state executive elections in New Mexico in 2015.

    2014

    Seventeen state executive offices were up for election including governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, treasurer, auditor, lands commissioner, three seats on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and seven seats on the New Mexico Public Education Commission.

    2013

    There were no elections in New Mexico in 2013.

    2012

    Seven state executive offices were up for election including two seats on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and five seats on the New Mexico Public Education Commission.

    State profile

    Demographic data for New Mexico
     New MexicoU.S.
    Total population:2,080,328316,515,021
    Land area (sq mi):121,2983,531,905
    Race and ethnicity**
    White:73.2%73.6%
    Black/African American:2.1%12.6%
    Asian:1.4%5.1%
    Native American:9.1%0.8%
    Pacific Islander:0.1%0.2%
    Two or more:3.3%3%
    Hispanic/Latino:47.4%17.1%
    Education
    High school graduation rate:84.2%86.7%
    College graduation rate:26.3%29.8%
    Income
    Median household income:$44,963$53,889
    Persons below poverty level:24.7%11.3%
    Source: U.S. Census Bureau, "American Community Survey" (5-year estimates 2010-2015)
    Click here for more information on the 2020 census and here for more on its impact on the redistricting process in New Mexico.
    **Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

    Presidential voting pattern

    See also: Presidential voting trends in New Mexico

    New Mexico voted for the Democratic candidate in six out of the seven presidential elections between 2000 and 2024.

    Pivot Counties (2016)

    Ballotpedia identified 206 counties that voted for Donald Trump (R) in 2016 after voting for Barack Obama (D) in 2008 and 2012. Collectively, Trump won these Pivot Counties by more than 580,000 votes. Of these 206 counties, three are located in New Mexico, accounting for 1.46 percent of the total pivot counties.[11]

    Pivot Counties (2020)

    In 2020, Ballotpedia re-examined the 206 Pivot Counties to view their voting patterns following that year's presidential election. Ballotpedia defined those won by Trump won as Retained Pivot Counties and those won by Joe Biden (D) as Boomerang Pivot Counties. Nationwide, there were 181 Retained Pivot Counties and 25 Boomerang Pivot Counties. New Mexico had three Retained Pivot Counties, 1.66 percent of all Retained Pivot Counties.

    More New Mexico coverage on Ballotpedia

    See also

    New Mexico State Executive Elections News and Analysis
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    External links

    Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures Website, "State Primary Election Types," accessed January 6, 2014
    2. ↑ Fair Vote, "Congressional and Presidential Primaries: Open, Closed, Semi-Closed, and 'Top Two,'" accessed January 6, 2014
    3. ↑ Ballotpedia research conducted December 26, 2013, through January 3, 2014, researching and analyzing various state websites and codes.
    4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named bb
    5. ↑ Albuquerque Journal, “GOP wins control of NM House,” November 4, 2014
    6. ↑ Taos News, Cody Hooks, "State education race pits two contenders, neither on ballot," accessed October 22, 2016
    7. ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Perls drops independent bid for PRC seat," accessed October 15, 2016
    8. ↑ New Mexico Secretary of State, "Voter Registration Information," accessed June 10, 2014
    9. ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
    10. ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "Electronic (or Online) Voter Registration," accessed April 20, 2013
    11. ↑ The raw data for this study was provided by Dave Leip of Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections.
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